Guaranteed income's 401(k) adoption problem persists, BPC brief finds. Bipartisan Policy Center identifies key barriers to broader adoption as well as solutions stakeholders can employ to address them October 30, 2026 Making protected lifetime income solutions available in a 401(k) plan is not the same as getting sponsors to adopt them or workers to use them - and according to a new issue brief from the Bipartisan Policy Center, that's a big part of the problem in getting these products to live up to their potential to help participants manage longevity risk and strengthen retirement security. The retirement industry has spent years developing guaranteed lifetime income solutions and securing regulatory accommodations. The next challenge isn't necessarily creating more products - it's giving plan sponsors the confidence, infrastructure and tools to offer them, and convincing participants to use them. The Oct. 29 issue brief, "Protected Lifetime Income in Workplace Retirement Plans: Barriers and Solutions from Two BPC Roundtables," says that few workplace retirement plans currently offer protected lifetime income options (the brief cites Plan Sponsor Council of America research indicating that just 9% of plans offered an in-plan annuity in 2024, a figure that has remained relatively flat since 2020), and many participants do not use them even when they are available. To understand why, the Bipartisan Policy Center - in partnership with MetLife, Prudential, and TIAA - convened two roundtable discussions in 2026 with interested parties from throughout the workplace retirement plan ecosystem: insurers, institutional advisors, consultants, recordkeepers, and plan sponsors. Roundtable discussants broadly agreed on the potential value of protected lifetime income and the importance of making appropriate solutions more accessible within defined contribution plans, the brief notes, but also agreed that it is not the same as getting sponsors to adopt them or workers to utilize them. The roundtable participants described a persistent disconnect between workers' well-documented concerns about outliving their savings and their willingness to purchase annuities. Some plan sponsors reported that they rarely hear employees ask for lifetime income products. Defaults and fiduciary concerns. If the problem is the way those solutions are presented and delivered, expanding their reach will likely require policymakers and the industry to reduce the barriers sponsors face and to encourage plan designs that make protected lifetime income easier for workers to understand and access, and to better understand when default approaches are appropriate. The brief notes that defaults, including income built into target-date funds or managed accounts or by automatically allocating a portion of a participant's assets to a protected lifetime income product, could increase use, much as automatic enrollment has increased saving. Discussants differed on when defaults are appropriate, but agreed that design must balance income protection with cost, liquidity, and flexibility. The brief raises the possibility that participants could incur costs or accept lower expected returns for income guarantees they never ultimately use. It also questions whether default income solutions are appropriate for workers with small balances or those who will rely heavily on Social Security. Fiduciary concerns also remain a significant obstacle to broader adoption. While the SECURE Act of 2019 established a safe harbor intended to ease fiduciary concerns about selecting annuity providers, plan sponsors and advisors must still navigate complex decisions involving insurer financial strength, product costs, liquidity, portability and suitability for participants. The brief suggests that additional regulatory clarity and better tools for evaluating and comparing products could help give fiduciaries greater confidence in offering guaranteed lifetime income solutions. Rising to the challenge. The challenge, the issue brief notes, is to build the infrastructure, fiduciary confidence, plan designs, and communication strategies that allow employers to confidently evaluate whether to make the option available and help workers determine whether, when, and how it fits for them. "No single stakeholder in the retirement system can solve this challenge alone, and the roundtables made clear that progress depends on collaboration," the brief states. Drawing on the discussions, BPC sees a role for each part of the retirement system: * Insurers and other solution providers can prioritize clear communication about how their products work and, where possible, simplify the products themselves. They can also invest in consumer testing and participate in comparison frameworks that streamline due diligence for advisors and sponsors. * Advisors and consultants can bring protected lifetime income into standard plan reviews, work with internal champions on the executive team or plan committee, and help plan sponsors translate product complexity into plain-language trade-offs for participants. * Recordkeepers can lead on integration and portability, so that a sponsor's options are not materially constrained by which recordkeeper it uses. * Plan sponsors can consider offering a protected lifetime income option suited to their workforce, giving participants the choice to use it, and need not wait for a perfect solution before beginning that evaluation. * Policymakers and regulators can build on recent guidance where fiduciary uncertainty remains, clarify where participant education ends and solicitation begins, and monitor how the SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0 provisions are functioning in practice. The measure of success for these efforts will be more workers retiring with confidence that their savings can support them for as long as they live. "Ultimately, expanding protected lifetime income will require coordination among insurers, advisors, consultants, recordkeepers, plan sponsors, and policymakers to create an environment in which employers can confidently evaluate appropriate options and workers can understand how those options fit into their broader retirement plans," the brief states. Keep up with the news, trends, products, and policy shaping the retirement plan industry.

Dept. of Financial Institutions: Awards college savings program management contract to TIAA-CREF Tuition Financing, Inc. Competitive Procurement Secures Lower Fees and New Enhancements for Edvest 529 and Tomorrow's Scholar While Providing Continuity for Wisconsin Savers The award follows a competitive procurement process initiated in January 2026 to evaluate the marketplace, build upon the strengths of Wisconsin's existing 529 program, and secure additional value and enhancements for current and future education savers. Under the new contract, which takes effect today, TIAA will continue serving as program manager for Edvest 529, Wisconsin's direct-sold college savings plan. TIAA will also continue its relationship with Voya Investment Management (Voya IM) for program management services for Tomorrow's Scholar, the state's advisor-sold college savings plan. TIAA has managed 529 plans for almost three decades and is the fastest growing program manager in the 529 industry. "Wisconsin families deserve college savings plans that deliver exceptional value, strong investment options, and high-quality service while continuing to evolve with the higher education landscape," said DFI Secretary Wendy K. Baumann. "This competitive process gave DFI an opportunity to closely examine the marketplace, challenge providers to bring forward their best ideas, and secure meaningful improvements for Wisconsin savers. The resulting agreement builds on the progress we have made as partners while setting an even higher standard for the years ahead." Among the most significant changes secured through the procurement is a 50% reduction in Edvest 529's program management fee, from 0.04% to 0.02%, effective with the start of the new contract today. The reduction is expected to save Edvest 529 participants approximately $1.8 million annually. The new agreement also creates an additional opportunity to lower this fee further as the plan grows. "It has been our privilege to work in partnership with the DFI to make a difference in the lives of so many Wisconsin families," said Chris Lynch, President of TIAA-CREF Tuition Financing, Inc. "We are excited to deploy impactful program enhancements to make Edvest 529 an even greater success going forward." Tomorrow's Scholar will also undergo a series of enhancements designed to make the plan more intuitive, flexible, and cost-effective for investors and their financial professionals. Savers will benefit from substantial cost reductions beginning January 25, 2027, when the plan's current age-based portfolios transition to enrollment-year portfolios. In addition to lowering fees, this modernization will allow families to select an investment portfolio based on the anticipated year a beneficiary will begin using the funds for education. Current plan participants invested in an age-based portfolio with the Tomorrow's Scholar plan will automatically be transitioned to the appropriate enrollment-year portfolio with no action required or cost assessed. Additional information will be sent directly to plan participants and advisors as the transition date approaches. "We believe college savings is a fundamental building block of a secure financial future," said Paula Smith, Senior Vice President, Head of DC and College Savings Product and Strategy at Voya Investment Management. "We're proud to extend our partnership with the DFI, continuing to help financial advisors empower families to plan for their children's futures and achieve their long-term financial goals." The DFI has contracted with TIAA and Voya IM for program and investment management services to Wisconsin's 529 plans since 2012. Since then, the DFI has worked with each plan manager to implement a range of enhancements intended to keep Wisconsin's plans competitive and responsive to the needs of participants. The DFI used the competitive request for proposal process to assess the evolving needs of education savers, examine industry capabilities and best practices, and establish expectations for the next contract period. The new agreement preserves the progress achieved under the existing contract while securing additional commitments, resources, and improvements. "Our responsibility is not simply to maintain strong plans, it is to continually look for opportunities to make them better," said DFI Office of Financial Capability Director Jessica Wetzel, who leads the Wisconsin 529 College Savings Program. "Competition helped us test what we have against the broader marketplace and identify opportunities to deliver additional value. We believe these improvements will help ensure Edvest 529 and Tomorrow's Scholar continue to meet the needs of Wisconsin families for years to come."